Images Dated 2007 August

Reading Station, c1910

Colour postcard showing the 1860 building with clock tower. The statue of King Edward VII an be seen in the forground

© STEAM Picture Library 2007 - All Rights Reserved

General, Station

Mechanics Institute Luncheon, July 1908

This luncheon was held in the Reading Room of the Mechanics Institute. George Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the GWR, can be seen sat at the back of the room to the centre of the image. The Mechanics Institute was built in 1854 and was at the heart of the Railway Village

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Churchward, Function, Luncheon, Mechanic, Swindon, Village

Mechanics Institute, 1933

This view of the Mechanics Institute shows the entrance to The Playhouse Theatre. The fly tower for the theatre can be seen in the centre of the building. This was built when a fire destroyed the old stage in December 1930.
The Institute provided a library, theatre and games rooms for GWR employees and their families. It was built in 1854 and stood in the heart of the Railway Village

© STEAM Picture Library 2007 - All Rights Reserved